League football clubs are always on the lookout for voluntary help, so when a fifteen year old from Riverton rang one day in 1987 looking for a waterboy’s job East Fremantle were only too happy to welcome the lad aboard.“It was then that they discovered I was too young, but, not wanting to let willing help go by, they plonked me on the scoreboard instead,” Justin Sanders recalled. Little did they know at the time, but the gangly youngster struggling with the tin numbers on the scoreboard would be part of two premierships for the club, play for Western Australia, and win two R A Corbett Medals.  With four brothers playing rugby league, and himself a Perth supporter, it was only the close proximity of East Fremantle that drew Sanders to Moss Street.  Trying out in 1989 with the colts, it was sheer persistence that saw him become part of the side in the second half of that season. The Sharks colts team went on to finish third on the ladder the following year, with some future league players among their ranks, including Sanders, Jon Stagg, and Glen Davies. Sanders won the reserves fairest and best award in 1990, but had to wait until 1993 to make his long awaited league debut. “It was a one-off,” Justin remarked. “Ian Newman had retired the previous season, and I was about the only ruckman around that week.” Dropped after his clash with Perth’s Steven Pears, he was part of an East Fremantle reserves flag that year.Sanders’s league career finally blossomed in 1994, and it was worth the wait.Finally forging a regular place in the league side, the twenty two year old wasn’t going to let the chance go by, and his determination and competitiveness around the ground became a feature of his play. On grand final day he was one of the Sharks best in a twenty one point win over Claremont. Ironically, it was injury problems in 1995 that led to his selection in the State side.Hampered in his ruckwork, Justin was tried at centre half forward, and it was in that position that he lined up for Western Australia against South Australia in 1996, the Croweaters prevailing by sixty five points.Sanders was back leading the East Fremantle ruck when they defeated West Perth  in the 1998 grand final, and his display against Ron Skender had an influence on the forty three point win.An ankle injury that had been troubling him for over three seasons finally became too much, and Justin Sanders called it quits after the end of the 1999 season. The bloke who had to wait five seasons before breaking into the league side had done well, chalking up a hundred and fourteen games, and but for a premature retirement could have played many more. An electrician who spent several years on the Burrup Peninsula but is now settled back in Perth, he is  into both surfing and kitesurfing, and enjoys fishing.     He didn’t want to separate the many good players he played against, but went for Ben Cousins as the best he played with. Justin Sanders proved that sheer perseverance can overcome early setbacks, and became an integral part of two premierships with East Fremantle, as well as representing his State.